My research focuses on O-glycans, a sugar that your body makes. In my lab, we’ve found O-glycans are important in the development of the blood and lymphatic vascular system. Without this sugar, the body doesn’t know if it should grow blood vessels or pieces of the lymphatic system, or how to connect them properly. O-glycosylation is a common protein posttranslational modification and is increasingly appreciated as having a wide and yet largely unexplored spectrum of biological functions.

Mucin-type O-glycans are highly expressed in blood, endothelial, and epithelial cells. Our published studies have identified new roles for O-glycans in blood cell trafficking via O-glycosylation of selectin ligands on leukocytes, vascular integrity via the O-glycoprotein podoplanin, and intestinal inflammation/cancer development via mucins on intestinal epithelial cells. These studies integrate our strengths and background in glycobiology, vascular biology, and hematology with expertise in mouse models. Our main goals are to uncover new in vivo functions of O-glycans/O-glycoproteins in endothelial cells, platelets, and intestinal epithelial cells, and to determine mechanisms by which O-glycoproteins regulate vascular integrity, inflammation, and tumorigenesis.

We are currently focused on: